Processing the Return

During processing, there are several tabs that you can navigate by clicking them. The features of these tabs are outlined below.

The Transmittals, Tax Return, E-File, Vouchers, K-1's, and Invoices tabs allow you to move and zoom the selected page

You use the navigator above the pages to move through them

<< Moves to the first page presented in the tab

< Moves one page backward.

> Moves one page forward.

>> Moves to the last page presented in the tab

The text box at the end allows you to move to a specific page within the tab

The yellow Move To drop-down allows you to take the currently highlighted page and move it to a different tab of the return as necessary

The “Revert” icon to the left of zoom takes the page back to normal zoom and exits the controls

The zoom button allows you to zoom in and out of a page for better viewing. After clicking zoom, you can left-click to enhance the page and right-click to zoom out

There are 2 scroll bars within each tab:

This scroll bar allows you to scroll through the bookmarked pages on the left

This scroll bar allows you to scroll down on the page that is currently being viewed

At the bottom of each tab, you will see the following options:

Previous will navigate to the previous tab

Next will navigate to the next tab

Save & Close will save any changes that have been made to the return and close it; you will be directed back to the Assignments dashboard

Finish will provide delivery options outlined below

Client Info

When you have opened a return for processing, you will be taken to the “Client Info” tab on the far left-hand side of the top menu. You will progress through each step moving left to right.

On the left of the screen, you will see “Refunds and Payments Due”. Below this, you will see any Refunds in green and any payments due in red

Should any of this information need to be edited, click on which line item needs to be changed and this will open the Refunds & Payments Due Action Menu on the right. This is your editing window for these line items.

Here you are able to edit:

Authority

Amount

Whether this is a Refund or a Payment Due

Once Editing is complete, click "Update"

These changes will be reflected in the upper left window immediately

For refunds, there is also an option to add any Applied payment amounts. Any penalty or fee amounts can be added here as well and the system will calculate the total refund amount.

Additionally, on the right, there will be an “Actions” pane with expandable panels for “Return Information”, “Taxpayer” and “Spouse” (if applicable).

Return Information: Please verify that the following fields are correct:

Client ID

Partner

Engagement Type

Tax year

If this is a joint return, the “Married Filing Joint” checkbox will be checked and there will be Spouse information listed below the Taxpayer information

Taxpayer: Please confirm/enter the following information:

Name: Extracted from the return

Address, City, State, ZIP: Extracted from the return

DOB: Not required, but can be entered. This is required for IRS KBA requirements. If you do not provide it, the taxpayer and spouse will be required to enter it before initiating the KBA process.

Email Address: REQUIRED. You will need to enter the email address for your Primary Taxpayer.

Spouse:

Name: Extracted from the return

Address, City, State, ZIP: Extracted from the return

DOB: Not required, but can be entered. This is required for IRS KBA requirements. If you do not provide it, the taxpayer and spouse will be required to enter it before initiating the KBA process.

Email Address: NOT REQUIRED. It can be entered if you know it, otherwise, we will request the taxpayer to provide it for us.

Group Tab

On the left, there will be a list of all groupings recognized by SafeSend Returns:

Transmittals

Tax Returns

E-File Authorizations

Vouchers

Invoices

Deleted

Navigation through Groupings:

You will be able to scroll through all of the documents under each group using the scroll wheel on your mouse.

You may also narrow your search by using the Group tabs on the left (shown above).

If any pages need to be moved into another grouping, you can move them via the following:

Drag them from one group to another. Hovering over a page will show a four-way cross image. If you click and hold, you can then drag the page into the appropriate grouping on the left.

Click on the box in the top-right corner of the page. You can select multiple pages and then click the yellow Move To drop-down to move all pages to the selected group.

If any pages need to be deleted, you can:

Check the box in the upper right of the specific page that needs to be deleted and click the delete button in the upper right.

Drag the page that needs to be deleted into the Delete group.

NOTE: Deleting a page will not affect the original document, but the pages that are deleted will not be sent to the client.

IMPORTANT: If SafeSend Returns fails to properly categorize a page of the return, please report a problem from within the return to notify our support team for assistance. This will also provide them with the needed information regarding the return.

Transmittals

On the left are all of the Transmittal pages in order. The bracketed number is the page of the return that it was pulled from. You can click through them to view them.

Adding a Manual Payment from Transmittals

You can now add a payment voucher from the “Transmittals” section

You will see “Manually Added Vouchers” and “Recognized Vouchers” on the left-hand side

Click the green “+” button to add a voucher

On the right-hand side, you will see an empty voucher form that you can fill out and save

Once saved, the added voucher will show on the left

You can also click any “Recognized Voucher” and its corresponding information will be on the right-hand side

You may edit the voucher information from here as well

Tax Returns

On the left are all of the tax return pages in order. The bookmark name is displayed. You can scroll through to locate specific pages.

E-File

All E-File Authorizations will appear in this tab. You can see them all listed on the left.

If your firm has decided to use the E-Sign options, you will see Signature & Date boxes, highlighted in yellow, for each signer on each e-file authorization you select

You will also see Signature & Date boxes for any other signer of this e-file authorization

You are able to move or delete these boxes

You can also add boxes by dragging and dropping them from the right-hand menu

The dropdown with the taxpayer's name allows you to select the taxpayer or spouse. When one is selected, the signature boxes assigned to that taxpayer will be highlighted.

Vouchers

Delete $0 Vouchers

This button will automatically delete all vouchers without any amounts attached. If the button is not showing, there are no $0 vouchers to delete.

Add Voucher

You can manually add one or more vouchers to the return, filling in the information in the pop-up window

Voucher Details

You will see information here about the currently selected voucher. These fields are editable.

Authority

Payment Type

Due Date

Voucher Amount

Form Name

Dropdown menu allows you to select an option for the voucher

DO NOT PAY: Scheduled for automatic withdrawal - no payment options will be provided to the taxpayer

Online payment required - an online payment URL will be automatically added depending on the taxing authority, which can be edited. This will be the only option provided to the taxpayer.

Add Custom - you can add custom text to provide voucher payment instructions to the taxpayer. There is a 50 character text limit. No payment options will be provided to the taxpayer.

K-1's

K1 Bookmarks

This column lists all of the K-1 bookmarks included in the uploaded PDF (i.e. partners/shareholders)

You can select a bookmark from the list, and edit the associated information on the right under Shareholder Information

Actions

Upload instructional documents for partners

Shareholder Information

Edit shareholder information including the email address the K-1 will be delivered to

Invoices

Invoices

A list of the added invoices will appear here

Actions:

You will see information here about the currently selected voucher

“Invoice Amount” will need to be entered, if you are sending an invoice. SafeSend Returns does not read the amount from the invoice automatically

If your firm’s settings allow for you to not send an invoice, you can check the 'Do not send an invoice with this return' button to prevent the invoice from being delivered to the taxpayer

If your firm’s settings allow for it, you can click “Replace Invoice” and select a different invoice to be sent to the taxpayer

Attachments

Attachments:

If you need to send your client any additional documents, you can do so from the Attachments tab

To add documents, simply drag them into the “Drag files here” box or click to open up a File Explorer to select your files from there.

Once added, your file will appear to the right of the upload box. This will include name, file size, date of upload, and the uploader's name.

You may also add instructions to your document for your client. Click on the blue 'Add Instruction' button to open up a window to type instructions out for your client in regards to the attachment.

If you upload a document in error you can click the red 'X' next to the attachment in order to remove it.

Delivery Options

Taxpayer Dashboard

Taxpayer Preview will open up a new tab that will let you see the return from the taxpayer's perspective.

Contact Person allows you to decide who appears as the contact person for the taxpayer. You may select any User in the drop-down.

Message From Preparer

You can add a message from the preparer that will appear to the taxpayer after they have completed the authentication screen.

You can select a message from the drop-down.

You can click 'New' in order to open an HTML editor, allowing you to create a new message to the recipient and add hyperlinks, adjust the font size, the color of text, etc.

View/Edit: opens an HTML editor allowing you to edit an existing message; add hyperlinks, adjust the font size, the color of text, etc.

Once your message has been completed, click “Update” and you will be taken back to the Delivery Options tab

Once a message has been added, the “View” button is removed and an “Edit” button appears

Email Notifications

Deliver First to: Here you can select who the return will be delivered to first either Taxpayer or Spouse. This option only appears for Joint Filed Returns.

Sender Name: You can select whose name is on the email notifications that the client will receive.

Notify When Signing is Complete: You can decide who in the firm will receive any signing event notifications.

These notifications include: Your tax return is signed by all signers, Opted out of signature, e-file authorization forms received.

Reminders

You can toggle the voucher reminders on or off before sending the return, depending on preference.

You can turn the reminders on or off after delivery by visiting the Actions drop-down in Delivered Returns.

Remind before/after: provides a list of options for reminder length. Available reminders range from 1 day to 30 days. The default in SafeSend Returns is 7 days.

Voucher Reminders will be sent the chosen number of days before the voucher due date.

Signing Reminders will be sent the chosen number of days after the last reminder or initial email was sent.

Signature Options

E-Sign: Your taxpayer will be able to either e-sign their e-file authorizations or they will be able to opt-out and manually sign and return them to you

Manual Sign and Return: This option removes the ability for your taxpayer to e-sign their e-file authorizations. Their only option will be to download and return to you (they will still be able to upload directly into SafeSend Returns, allowing you the ability to download)

Manual Sign and Return

Mailing Address: You can decide what address and fax number your clients sees, should they decide to manually return their e-file authorizations

These addresses are added in Settings/Signatures

Finish Return Processing

When you have finished processing a return and are ready to send it out for either review or to the client, click “Finish” in the lower right corner

You will be immediately prompted to either:

Send to another user for review: you will choose among a list of users.

Send to Partner: this will go directly to the Partner chosen during the submission process.

If you are the Partner the return is assigned to, you will not see this option

Approve for Delivery: This will update the status of the return from “Processing” or “In Review” to “Approved for Delivery”

Deliver to Client: This will trigger the initial notification to your taxpayer or spouse that their return is ready for review and e-signing

Once this is selected, the return will move out of Assignments and into Delivered Returns